To maneuver an aircraft on the ground, and more particularly to reverse it, a tractor is used. The tractor is driven by an operator and is attached to guiding landing gear of the aircraft. The guiding landing gear of the aircraft includes a first part, joined to the structure of the aircraft, and a second part to which the landing gear wheel is fixed and that has a degree of rotational freedom with respect to the first part, so as to allow the wheel to be steered. To provide the steering function, the first part primarily includes a drum, and the second part primarily includes a rotating tube. The landing gear wheel is able to move in rotation about an axis perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the second part with respect to the first part. The second part is typically telescopic with respect to the first part, so as to allow a shock-absorbing function to be performed.
The aircraft has to be steered within a predefined steering angle range. The operator of the tractor is not supposed to steer the aircraft outside of this predefined steering angle range; if he does, protective components of the landing gear are deformed and have to be replaced, which entails maintenance operations and therefore temporary grounding of the aircraft.
To allow the operator of the tractor to ensure that the steering of the aircraft is within the predefined steering angle range, visual markers are placed on the first part and on the second part of the landing gear. These visual markers are called steering angle indicators. The visual marker on the second part is situated in the axis of movement of the wheel on the ground. Two visual markers are situated on the first part so as to mark the limits of the predefined steering angle range. The operator has to continuously check, when maneuvering the aircraft using the tractor, that the visual marker situated on the second part of the landing gear does not leave the steering angle range marked by the two visual markers situated on the first part of the landing gear. It should be noted that these two visual markers may be situated at different locations on the structure of the aircraft, as long as they allow the operator to ensure that the steering of the aircraft is within the predefined steering angle range during the maneuvering performed using the tractor.
However, it is desirable to provide a solution that facilitates aircraft landing gear wheel steering monitoring for the operator of the tractor.
It is also desirable to provide a solution of this kind that is simple to implement and inexpensive, and, more particularly, that is easily incorporated into pre-existing systems in the aeronautical sector.